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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §4.32.1-4.32.3

Tarquinius Demands the Senate's Judgment and Warns of Force

Passage 276 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Tarquinius denounces Tullius by pointing out the honors he would have gained had he justly restored the kingdom, demanding that they submit to the senate's judgment, and warning that he will resort to force if Tullius flees to the crowd.

§4.32.1περιῆν γὰρ ἄν σοι ταῦτα πράξαντι πρῶτον μὲν εὐσεβεῖ καὶ δικαίῳ λέγεσθαι, ἔπειτα συμβασιλεύειν ἐμοὶ καὶ πάσης μετέχειν τιμῆς, εὐεργέτην τε καὶ πατέρα καὶ σωτῆρα καὶ πάντα, ὅσα τιμιώτατα ὀνόματα ὑπʼ ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ καλοῖς κεῖται πράγμασιν, ἀκούειν καὶ μὴ τέταρτον ἤδη τοῦτο καὶ τετταρακοστὸν ἔτος ἀποστερεῖν με τῶν ἐμῶν, οὔτε σώματος ἀναπήρου τυχόντα οὔτε διανοίας ἠλιθίου.
For had you done this, it would have remained to you, first, to be called pious and just, and next, to reign jointly with me and to share in every honor, and to hear yourself called benefactor, father, savior, and all the most honorable names that are bestowed by men upon good deeds, and not to be depriving me of my own for this forty-fourth year already, when I have neither an impaired body nor a foolish mind.
ἔπειτʼ ἐρωτᾶν με τολμᾷς, τί παθὼν δεινὸν ἐχθρὸν ἡγοῦμαί σε καὶ διὰ τί §4.32.2σου κατηγορῶ;
And then do you dare to ask me what terrible thing I have suffered that I consider you an enemy, and why I accuse you?
σὺ μὲν οὖν ἀπόκριναί μοι, Τύλλιε, τίνος αἰτίας χάριν οὐκ ἀξιοῖς με τῶν τοῦ πάππου τιμῶν κληρονομεῖν καὶ τίνα πρόφασιν εὐπρεπῆ τῆς ἀποστερήσεως σκηπτόμενος;
Answer me then, Tullius, for what reason you do not think me worthy to inherit my grandfather's honors, and what specious pretext you allege for this deprivation?
πότερον οὐχ ἡγούμενος ἐξ ἐκείνου γένους εἶναί με γνήσιον, ἀλλʼ ὑποβολιμαῖόν τινα καὶ νόθον;
Is it because you do not believe me to be of his line by birth, but some supposititious child and a bastard?
τί οὖν ἐπετρόπευες τὸν ἀλλότριον τοῦ γένους καὶ τὸν οἶκον ἀνδρωθέντι ἀπεδίδους;
Why then did you act as guardian to one alien to the family, and restore the house to him when he came to manhood?
ἀλλʼ ἔτι νομίζων με ὀρφανὸν εἶναι παῖδα καὶ τὰ κοινὰ πράττειν ἀδύνατον, ὃς οὐ πολὺ ἀπέχω πεντηκονταετίας;
Or is it because you still think me to be an orphan child and incapable of managing public affairs, though I am not far from fifty years of age?
κατάβαλε τὴν εἰρωνείαν τῶν ἀναισχύντων §4.32.3ἐρωτημάτων καὶ παῦσαί ποτε ἤδη πονηρὸς ὤν·
Lay aside the irony of your shameless questions, and cease at last from being wicked.
εἰ δὲ τι δίκαιον ἔχεις πρὸς ταῦτʼ εἰπεῖν, ἕτοιμός εἰμι τούτοις ἐπιτρέπειν δικασταῖς, ὧν οὐκ ἂν ἔχοις ἑτέρους εἰπεῖν ἄνδρας ἐν τῇ πόλει κρείττους·
If you have anything just to say against these things, I am ready to submit to these men as judges, than whom you could not name any better men in the city.
ἐὰν δʼ ἐντεῦθεν ἀποδιδράσκων, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀεί σοι ποιεῖν σύνηθες, ἐπὶ τὸν ἐκδημαγωγούμενον ὑπὸ σοῦ καταφεύγῃς ὄχλον, οὐκ ἐπιτρέψω σοι· παρεσκεύασμαι γὰρ ὡς καὶ τὰ δίκαια ἐρῶν καὶ εἰ μὴ πείθοιο τὰ βίαια πράξων.
But if, running away from here, which is always your custom to do, you flee to the crowd that is courted by you, I will not permit you; for I have prepared myself as one who will both speak what is just, and, if you do not yield, will act by force.

Notes

  1. §4.32.1περιῆν γὰρ ἄν — The imperfect of the impersonally used περίεστι ("it remains as a surplus," "it results") with the particle ἄν expresses a past contrary-to-fact condition. The dative σοι acts as the logical subject, with the dative participle ταῦτα πράξαντι serving as the condition ("if you had done these things"). The subjects of the verb are the series of infinitives that follow (λέγεσθαι, συμβασιλεύειν, μετέχειν, ἀκούειν, μὴ ... ἀποστερεῖν).
  2. §4.32.1ἀκούειν — Here ἀκούω is used in the passive sense of "to be called" or "to have the reputation of being." Although it typically takes a predicate nominative, the nouns such as εὐεργέτην are placed in the accusative to agree as predicate accusatives with the omitted subject accusative of the infinitive ἀκούειν (i.e., σε).
  3. §4.32.3οὐκ ἂν ἔχοις — The verb ἔχω followed by an infinitive (here εἰπεῖν) expresses capability ("to be able to"). Combined with the optative with ἄν, it denotes a potential optative representing a mild negative assertion ("you would not be able to name").
  4. §4.32.3ὡς καὶ τὰ δίκαια ἐρῶν — The conjunction ὡς modifying the future participles (ἐρῶν and πράξων) expresses the intention or determination of the agent ("as one intending to speak what is just and to act by force"). It acts adverbially to modify the perfect main verb παρεσκεύασμαι ("I have prepared myself").

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §4.32.1-4.32.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.32.1-4.32.3

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